Event | Satellite | Spectres!

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: May 23 - 26, 2013
Location: Keeliai, turtleside, ARSHEPHELIOS cluster remains
Situation: Repairs and salvage operations operating innocently have triggered an invasion of spectres that possess and wreak havoc upon all they see.
Warnings/Rating: Please put CW in your subject lines

Satellite Crash Event

Crash Landing | Salvage Party | Shocking Spectres


Questions | Keeliai | ARSHEPHELIOS


Salvage is sweet, but not all is well on board the ARSHEPHELIOS cluster. The seamless cylinders salvaged from debris and the cluster, now being frequently traded, turn out to be pods the first time one is penetrated or cracked open. Each breached pod releases a flood of energy-based apparitions hellbent on world domination -- or, more accurately, person domination (and it's not the fun kind).

These apparitions -- spectres, if you will -- are driven by a need to protect the technology of the satellite cluster that their pods are associated with. They will stop at nothing to see this through. Each is immune to physical attacks, but seem to be injured or dissipated entirely by things like electrical shock or other energy-based projections. If people touch them, there is also a brief window of vulnerability, but it acts also like a door that swings both way. Through contact, these spectres can and will invade one's psyche, take over their body and cause them to attack friend or foe alike! Should the possessed body be subjected to sufficient electrical shock, the possession should fade. Strong natural will can also drive the spectres out, but it is no walk in the park to do so. Possession is not the only tool in the arsenal, for these spectres use electricity as their main offensive weapon. They'll leave deep-tissue burns on anyone they fight, and show no degree of fatigue after constant use of it.

Ten thousand of these creatures will be freed from pods, resulting in a veritable flood of Keeliai, the turtleside, and the satellite cluster. With such a driven enemy, it comes down to killing or being killed.

Meanwhile, those taking shelter indoors may notice that the spectres will get into the biomechanical functions of Keeliai. Consoles will be malfunctioning during this time, with lines of mysterious code and strange, ghostly images. One might hear people screaming for help or hours of patchy radio static.

Comments

[jirk]

Born ready.

[He says that with absolute conviction and something a tiny bit like manic cheerfulness. All the danger aside, he missed feeling useful. He may be tired and burned and starving (no really he hadn't realized how hungry he was until just now) but he's doing something. And that's all that matters.]

[urbanmagic]

[The sound of his slight manic cheerfulness ends up making her smile a little, raising her staff to get ready and break the spell.]

Someone sounds excited. [And that's when she drops the shield.]

[jirk]

[Welp, no time like the present. Jim isn't about to ask nicely if he can toss her up, he just laces his fingers together and nods to his hands, sort of a come on let's make like atoms and split.]

You don't know the half of it.

[urbanmagic]

[She flashes a grateful smile and goes to take the offer, making her way up as fast as she can (which was a bit of a struggle, but she manages it) before extending an arm down to help pull him up.

She can at least use a bit of a magic boost in strength for a short time for this.]

You can tell me later, now come on!

[jirk]

[He jumps, takes her hand and lets her pull him up until the point that he can take over himself, hands braced on the edge of the ledge. Then he sits a moment, looking down at the gathering possessed.

There's something about this that feels overwhelming, but Jim's not the sort to let it steamroll him. He shakes his head briefly.]

Let's get inside. We need to regroup.

[urbanmagic]

Right. [Aaand following, though not without having to ask the question of the day.] By the way, who are you anyway?

[jirk]

[Time for a breather, whoo boy.]

Name's Kirk. Jim Kirk. Hey.

[A bit of a wave.]

[urbanmagic]

Traci. [Last name not important.] You've got some good moves out there. Soldier?

[jirk]

Starfleet.

[He relents, since she might not know what that is,]

Kind of. Naval training in the 23rd century. What about you? That whole rabbit in a hat stuff is pretty awesome.

[urbanmagic]

I'm just a regular girl with a few tricks up her sleeve. [Like a lot.] And a very good staff in hand.

... 23rd century? Okay, that's way off my timeline.

[jirk]

I'd have to say that's more than a few.

[They're in a sort of office building, but at least it has a couch and a half-dozen chairs, one of which has been crammed under the door handle to keep it from being opened from the outside.

Which makes the fact that it's empty just a tiny bit creepy.]

It's way off most people's -- [He tugs the chair free from under the door] -- timelines, honestly. At least from what I've heard, just about everyone's from some variant of the 21st century if they're from Earth at all.

[urbanmagic]

Well, I do pride myself in my diversity.

[Welll...] You got that right on both counts for me. Earth-based 21st century gal here, along with the majority of the population. I've met some from the past, but you're the first future guy I've ran into here.

[jirk]

Hey, there is nothing wrong with diversity.

[He's a Federation boy at heart, okay? He loves the idea of everybody kind of just getting along. Oh, he's a fighter as much as he's a lover most days, but it's on an individual scale. You want to talk the grandiose? Jim wants the whole damned universe to kiss and make up. No more wars with the Klingons or the Romulans or whatever alien flavour of the week is hell-bent on the destruction of the known world this time around.]

Oh? You don't say.

[He grins, a tiny bit flirtatious. Oh, she's too young for him, he's hardly serious about it, but he's Jim Kirk. He can't not flirt, at least a little. Now that they're out of danger and into the relative safety of this whole... place.]

Well, let me be the first to tell you, kid. The future is awesome.

[urbanmagic]

Look it here, a man after my own heart. [Swoon. Okay no, not really, she's just kidding but she likes the idea of having someone she gets along with here.]

Maybe you can tell me more about it when we're not in a potentially life-and-death situation. I'd like to know how different it is from now.

[jirk]

You got it.

[He loves the future, okay. Despite everything, Jim's an explorer by heart. Being stuck in one place too long (case in point: Keeliai) has a tendency to wear on him.]

How much of a recharge do you need on your whole-- magic thing?

[urbanmagic]

Give me a few minutes. Five? Ten tops? I've been running myself ragged today and I need a breather.

[Which probably means they should head to higher ground or something.] How many floors do you think this place has?

[jirk]

Four.

[He rummages through the desk with a silent apology to whoever owns the place, and comes up with some sort of... wrapped granola-type bar? He peels the wrapper back, sniffs it, and when it passes muster he holds it out for her.]

Here, probably been a while since you got anything to eat.

[urbanmagic]

Thanks. [It was true, and she wasn't about to deny it. No use being a martyr when it's not called for.] Don't want any? I can split it in half.

[jirk]

Naw, thanks. I had a sandwich a couple hours ago, I'm good.

[Not even a word of a lie, he shared one with a little Robin.]

Let's move up, this place seems pretty well barricaded but these things can probably figure out doors.

[urbanmagic]

All right, then. [She'll just go and eat that as they move.]

Good idea. Everything happened so fast, I wasn't even sure if I was seeing it right. Here I thought the crashlanding was the worst part.

[jirk]

[He pushes open a door and peeks out cautiously into the hallway, and then gestures her to follow him to the stairwell.]

Are you kidding? It never stops at the crash landing.

[He's a seasoned veteran of these sorts of scenarios, okay? Crash landings are never just that. They're always the precursor to some sort of... alien takeover or hostile invasion or something.]

[urbanmagic]

Never hurt to dream, right? [Sadly, she's aware of that. le sigh. She could hear pounding from below, but not footsteps. Good enough.] Up we go?

[jirk]

Trust me, I am all for dreaming.

[It just usually happens in a nice, safe bed. He gestures for her to go first up the stairs.]

Up we go. Can you fly?

[VALID QUESTION TO ASK IN KEELIAI.]

[urbanmagic]

Haven't quite mastered that yet. Sorry. [Levitating. Flying. Zatanna could do it, she's experienced it, but her? She'd be lucky to get two meters before she drops on her butt. Running was a better option.] Guess we'll have to run.

[jirk]

Running doesn't do us much good when we're four stories off the ground.

[THIS COULD BE PROBLEMATIC. Maybe there's something on the roof they can use. He rather hopes there is, and takes the stairs two at a time until they're at the roof access door. He flashes her a quick smile and then steps outside. Nothing convenient like, oh, say, a shuttlecraft. Or even, you know, a jetpack. He'd totally take a jetpack at this point in time.

But there is a coil of cable nearby, and several hearty looking stovepipes. He examines them closely, knocking his boot against one to see how sturdy it is.]

Okay, new question. How's your highwire performance art?